


Best Mate

by JoMouse



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Artist Zayn, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Don't copy to another site, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Oblivious Liam, Oblivious Liam Payne, Pining Zayn, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 11:37:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17786651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: Louis and Harry have invited Liam and his boyfriend, Zayn, for a couples' getaway at their cabin.There's only one little problem, Liam doesn't have a boyfriend, named Zayn or otherwise. What he does have is aflatmatenamed Zayn.





	Best Mate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ohthathurt (cloisterrific_221B)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloisterrific_221B/gifts).



> Greetings and Salutations!
> 
> This fic was written for [ohthathurt](http://ohthathurt.tumblr.com) as part of the [TheZiamClub](http://theziamclub.tumblr.com) Valentine Gift Exchange on tumblr.
> 
> The prompts I could choose from were: fake relationship AU, mistletoe kiss, cuddling for warmth. Being the overachiever (or perhaps just glutton for punishment) that I am, I attempted to write a fic that included all three.
> 
> This couldn't have been done without the lovely people of TheZiamClub for organizing the exchange, my wonderful betas Cristina, Jenn, and Marie ([quietzap on tumblr](http://quietzap.tumblr.com)) as they helped clean this up and keep me motivated so that I not only finished it, but I finished it over a week early. 
> 
> I've never written a fake relationship AU before (even though I love them), so I hope I did it and all of your prompts justice, sweetie.
> 
> Enjoy and Happy Valentine's Day!
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Liam sat at his desk on Monday, gazing out the window of his office admiring the rare sunny February day. Although it looked warm, the air was actually crisp and cold, with just a hint of dampness that not even the sunshine could chase away. His warmest jacket hung on the rack in the corner of the room with those belonging to his two other coworkers. They were currently in the break room discussing their plans for spending Valentine’s Day with their significant others, ignoring the ringing of the phones on their desks.

They had asked Liam if he had any plans, but his own phone had rung so he’d managed to evade the question. He really had nothing to add to the conversation, so he would’ve just given some vague response anyway that would be more lie than truth. It wouldn’t have been the first time he’d made noises that gave the impression he was in a relationship. He hated lying to anyone, but he was desperate to do anything to avoid their pitying looks when in actuality he was really quite pathetically single. He was just fortunate that his flatmate had as little of a social life as he did otherwise he’d spend every weekend sitting home alone and wondering if moving from his hometown to London for a job was actually the stupidest thing he’d ever done.

He didn’t regret moving overall because he loved his job and would’ve done anything to acquire it. The  _ Make Someone Happy Today _ foundation had been founded by a mother-son duo, Johannah Deakin and Louis Tomlinson. The program was similar to others in granting wishes, but not just to those terminally ill as well as providing donations to different groups and individuals that were in need. Starting out small and run out of the kitchen in Louis’ childhood home, it had grown into the world-renowned program it had become through tireless efforts of Johannah and Louis until Johannah’s untimely death due to leukaemia. Louis had thought about giving up but had continued on in reverence to his mother’s memory.

Liam had started with the program shortly before her death and his graduation from Uni, quickly moving from receptionist for Louis Tomlinson to project manager, mostly through his devotion to Louis and keeping the young man on the right path through his personal grief. He’d bonded with him and would go so far as to call them, not friends but, slightly more than acquaintances. Friends light, one might say.

At that moment, as Liam counted down the minutes until it was time for him to head home for the day, he was wishing he had more friends and wondered if his flatmate ever felt the same. He knew that the other man had people other than Liam, going out occasionally, but always inviting Liam along, but he still seemed to spend the majority of his time with Liam. Although, he wondered how much of it was a genuine desire to spend time together as it was feeling sorry for him. 

The door to Louis’ office burst open, Louis’ fiancé tumbling out laughing, startling Liam out of his self-imposed pity party. He made his way over to Liam’s desk with long loping strides as Louis came out behind him, shaking his head, a fond smile on his lips.

“Liam! You’re coming right?” Harry asked, his normally deep and slow voice was sped up in excitement, pitched a bit higher than Liam was used to. 

He smiled, ready to agree that he was coming even though he didn’t have even the slightest clue what Harry was talking about, he looked to Louis for help, but the man was glancing down at the tablet in his hands, fingers tapping wildly. A moment later Liam’s computer pinged and he saw an email from his boss. Holding a finger up to Harry, he opened the email with the subject line:  _ Don’t Rat Me Out.  _ Rolling his eyes at Louis’ craziness, he read on.

_ Liam, _

_ I was supposed to invite you and your boyfriend up to my cabin for a Valentine’s Day Getaway starting Thursday morning and lasting until Sunday Night.  _

_ I forgot. _

_ Please say you’ll go. _

_ Please don’t tell Harry I forgot. _

_ Louis _

_ P.S. Don’t even try to say you can’t get the time off of work, I know your boss. ;) _

If it weren’t for the word ‘boyfriend,’ Liam would probably be laughing at his boss’ antics, but as it was he was choking on air. Harry came around the desk and slapped him on the back with a concerned look. “Alright?” He managed to shut his monitor off before Harry could see the email.

He glanced up at Louis who was giving him a pointed look. “You know, I would love to come up to the cabin, but I think my boyfriend already made plans,” he said, hoping the excuse would work without any backup, otherwise he would have to come clean. Lying about your social life to your boss shouldn’t be a fireable offence, but Liam was afraid to take the risk, especially with how unpredictable Louis could be when he didn’t get his way. 

“Nonsense!” Harry told him. “What could be better than an extended weekend away from London with your two best mates?”

“Niall and Andy are in town?” Liam asked. His two friends both lived hours away, one in a separate country. He couldn’t imagine Louis sneaking around to get their contact info, let alone inviting them up to his personal cabin for an extended weekend, although if that were the case, he wasn’t sure why he would have to bring his mythical boyfriend since Niall was single and he’d listen to Andy complain for hours tonight that his girlfriend had gone out of town with her family for a few weeks.

“Us!” Harry said, laughing like Liam was the funniest bloke on the planet. “Niall and Andy, as if,” he muttered under his breath, still chuckling.

Harry had always been kind to Liam, welcoming him on his first day with a plate of cookies, including him in lunch dates and bringing him gifts, but he’d thought that was just Harry’s personality. He had never imagined it was an indication that he meant anything special to Harry and, by extension, Louis. The expectant look on his face and the pleading look in Louis’ eyes had him nodding along. “Sure...sure...a weekend away sounds good, really good, excellent even.”

The clock on the wall chimed the hour, it was quitting time and his coworkers were already out the door, leaving Liam alone with Harry and Louis. “Great!” Harry said, clapping his hands. He began listing things that would be needed for the weekend as he headed toward the door.

“Thanks so much, mate,” Louis whispered to Liam. “It’s gonna be great to finally meet your boyfriend.”

“Does Zayn have any allergies or food requirements?” Harry shouted back, not really waiting for an answer as he disappeared.

Louis followed Harry out the door, leaving Liam frozen at his desk, staring out after him. He knew agreeing to this weekend was a bad idea because Liam didn’t have a boyfriend. Liam most definitely didn’t have a boyfriend named Zayn. Liam had a  _ flatmate  _ named Zayn.

***

The flat door was ajar when he arrived home, so Liam pushed it open cautiously and was greeted by the smell of spicy food and the sound of singing. A smile tickling his lips, he closed the door quietly, hanging his jacket on the hook behind the door next to a beat-up leather jacket that smelled a bit like cigarette smoke and cologne. Leaning back against the wall, he took off his boots, lining them up with the rest of the shoes on the drying mat beneath his coat. He gently laid his keys and the change in his pockets in the small bowl with his name painted in the bottom of it that rested on the sideboard next to a matching bowl with Zayn’s name. Zayn’s bowl held keys and assorted odds and ends that he was pretty sure Zayn had picked up on one of his inspiration walks.

Humming along to the song Zayn was singing in the kitchen, he moved into the main area of the flat and set his bag down on the sofa. Pulling his phone out, he switched on the video camera before moving to lean in the doorway to the kitchen, holding his phone up to film Zayn shimmying around the kitchen and singing into a wooden spoon when he wasn’t using it to stir whatever was simmering on the range. He’d envied Zayn’s voice since the first time he’d stumbled upon him singing just like he was then. It was rare for him to hear it though, because his flatmate only sang in the shower or when he thought that he was alone. He’d be sending the video to his and Zayn’s mums when he was done.

Thinking about his mum put a smile on his face as he remembered her biggest fear when he’d told her he’d found a job in London was that he wouldn’t find a place to stay. Secretly, Liam had shared her fear and even if a small part of him had believed in himself enough to find a place to stay, he’d never allowed himself to hope he would find someone to live with that he liked let alone considered a friend. Thankfully, Zayn definitely didn’t seem to mind spending time with Liam and listened to him whenever he felt homesick, something he hoped he did in return when necessary.

When he’d stayed in the hostel after arriving in London, searching for a flat while getting settled at  _ Make Someone Happy Today, _ he made sure to call home often, refusing to let his parents sense that anything was less than perfect. He did his best not to lie outright to them, choosing his words carefully as he talked about his job and the many leads he had on flats. Unfortunately, after two weeks of visiting far too many beautiful flats he couldn’t afford as well as flats he could afford but scared the hell out of him, he was ready to give up and go back home with his tail between his legs. He was on his way to tell Johannah and Louis that he needed to quit and return to Wolverhampton when he’d spotted a brightly coloured flyer hanging in the lobby of the building that held the  _ Make Someone Happy Today _ offices.

The cartoon drawing of two superheroes sacked out on a sofa sharing a bowl of popcorn underneath the words “Looking for a super flatmate?” in comic book style lettering spoke to his inner geek. He couldn’t resist tearing off one of the tabs and dialling the number on it immediately, crossing his fingers that the flyer wasn’t years old. The voice that answered was sleepy and slurred but brightened immediately when Liam had said why he was calling.

He’d met with Zayn that very same day at a coffee shop near the office and hit it off immediately, bonding over their shared love of comics and music. After talking for a couple of hours in the shop, getting dirty looks from the employees for hogging a table for so long, Zayn had invited him to see the flat. It was small but plenty large enough for two single men. They each had their own room which was just large enough for a bed and a wardrobe. The shared space was cosy, but not crowded and the kitchen was tidy and spacious in comparison to the rest of the flat. Zayn was handing Liam a key and he had moved in what few possessions he had that same night before heading back to Wolverhampton to pick up the rest of his things the next weekend, Zayn coming along to help as well as give Liam’s parents a chance to check out the person their son would be living with.

His parents had nothing to worry about, Zayn was a great flatmate. He was quiet and he loved to cook. They both enjoyed watching superhero movies and listening to the radio. They had a deal that Zayn cooked dinner and Liam would be in charge with cleanup. It worked for them because the couple of times Liam had tried to cook, he’d set off the smoke detectors. After the second time, the fire department encouraged Zayn to never allow Liam to cook again. Instead, Zayn began teaching Liam how to cook and they shared clean up duty.

It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say Zayn was his best mate; they spent most of their time not working together and he always had a good time with him. He wasn’t sure if Zayn felt the same way about him, but at least he tolerated Liam. Clearing his throat, he laughed when Zayn shrieked and threw the spoon in the air splattering some kind of red sauce all over the ceiling.

Whipping around, he glared at Liam shaking a finger in the air at him. “You are cleaning that up!” Liam just laughed and moved to the basin to grab a washcloth before climbing up on one of the stools by the counter to reach the ceiling. “You know better than to sneak up on someone! I’m telling Karen you’re being mean,” he teased.

“I’ll tell her you’re calling her by her first name,” Liam teased right back, waving his phone at him. “I’ve got video proof and everything.” Liam’s mum had fallen in love with Zayn almost the second they first met, insisting the boy call her ‘mum’ and they actually spoke on the phone a couple of times a month. He’d tease Zayn more about it, but his relationship with Zayn’s mum, Trisha, was very similar.

Once the ceiling was as clean as it was going to get, Zayn plated up the food telling Liam the smaller pan was mild just for him. Zayn was a fan of spicy foods, but Liam was not so he always made sure that Liam had something to eat when the meal was particularly spicy. Liam appreciated the thoughtfulness as he took a small bite.

Zayn laughed when Liam grabbed his glass of milk. “This is mild?” Zayn nodded and Liam sighed, taking the naan that Zayn handed him and using it to cut the spiciness. “Tastes good despite the third-degree burns on the roof of my mouth.”

“Thanks,” Zayn told him. “Sorry, it was still too spicy.” Liam just shrugged and continued eating as Zayn talked about his day. He’d been off of work so he’d spent the morning taking photographs in the park and the afternoon trying to paint his favourite one. He offered to show it to Liam when they were done eating.

Liam tried to focus on what Zayn was saying, but his mind kept going back to Louis saying he couldn’t wait to meet his boyfriend. He only had two days after today to either come up with a fake Zayn or find an excuse to back out of the trip altogether. He must’ve gotten too lost in his own head because the next thing he knew, a piece of bread was bouncing off his forehead.

“Vas happenin’?” Zayn asked eyes narrowed in concern. “Usually you like hearing about my painting.” He chewed into his lower lip and dropped his eyes when he finished

Liam wanted to kick himself, knowing Zayn got insecure about his art and now he thought Liam didn’t care. “I love hearing about your art! I’m sorry. I’m just trying to figure out a problem.”

“A problem shared is a problem halved,” Zayn offered, standing to clear his dish and grabbing Liam’s empty plate at the same time. 

“Hey! It’s my turn to do the dishes,” Liam argued, following Zayn into the kitchen where he was already filling the basin with soap suds.

“You worked today and I didn’t,” Zayn said with a shrug. “I can help you out, especially since you seem to have a lot on your mind.”

Liam grabbed a dish towel and as Zayn washed, he dried and put away the dishes. They worked silently and everything was done in a few minutes. The quiet and repetitive motions gave Liam a chance to decide to seek Zayn’s advice on his situation. He waited until they were done and the kitchen was cleared before heading to the sofa and sitting together.

Liam started with telling Zayn about the weekend getaway and how Harry had referred to himself and Louis as Liam’s two best mates. He was surprised when Zayn let out a snort that sounded angry. “What?”

“Like those two are better friends with you than me. Just because they’ve known you slightly longer. Quality over quantity and all that rot,” Zayn argued. “Hell, I’d say I’m your  _ best _ mate, but Niall would probably kick my arse.”

Liam tried to hide his smile at Zayn’s words, but the warmth in his chest had to escape somehow. “You _ are _ my best mate,” he whispered, the warmth growing as Zayn gave him a wide smile. “Don’t tell Niall though.”

They shared a laugh and settled more into the sofa and turned on the Nintendo to play MarioKart. As they cursed each other, Liam was thinking how to bring up the rest of the conversation from work but was beat to the punch by Zayn pausing the game and turning to him. “So, other than Harry mistaking how important he is to you, what happened to have you out of sorts? Is it the idea of going away with a couple for Valentines?”

Liam fiddled with the controller, wishing he could still be playing so he didn’t have to look at Zayn. “Well, the plan isn’t for it to be them and me. The weekend is actually supposed to be a couples’ thing and Louis wants me to bring my boyfriend.”

Zayn’s controller hit the floor with a thud, drawing Liam’s gaze up to Zayn’s face which was pale and his eyes were wide. “Your boyfriend?” he asked, his voice cracking on the last word. “You have a...you have...you have one of those?”

“Of course not,” Liam said, shocked that Zayn would even think he did. When did he have time for a boyfriend? Ninety-nine percent of the time he wasn’t at work was spent with Zayn. “I just let everyone at the office think I did because I didn’t want to get set up with someone.” He looked embarrassed as he started fiddling with his controller, starting at his fingers moving over the controls. “So, now I either have to hire an escort or come up with a great excuse to get out of the weekend.”

“Or there could be another option,” Zayn started, twisting his fingers together in his lap. “I could go with you.” He shrugged when Liam’s head whipped up to gape at him. “I’ve got no plans for Valentine’s Day and you know I can get off work without a problem. Besides, who better to pretend to be your boyfriend than your best mate?” His smile was small and twisted with uncertainty.

“You’d be willing to do that for me?” Liam asked, genuinely surprised. He’d already been taken aback by Zayn declaring them best mates, but for him to offer to give up four days of his time to pretend to be his boyfriend was mind-blowing.

“Why not? Could be fun,” Zayn told him as he pushed off from the sofa to cross the room to grab one of his sketchbooks and a pencil. Returning to sit on one end of the sofa, back against the arm, knees bent with the sketchbook resting on them. He flipped a few pages before pressing the pencil to it and looking up expectantly. “So, how did we meet?”

Liam laughed. “I moved into your flat, don’t you remember?”

Zayn rolled his eyes so hard that it looked like it hurt. “I mean how did you and your boyfriend meet? What did you tell people?”

Liam thought hard, trying to remember everything he had said about his fictional boyfriend. “I never really went into too much detail. I mostly just made noises when people asked if I was spending time with my boyfriend.”

“Right. So, how did the idea of you having a boyfriend come up in the first place?” Zayn asked, his eyes on Liam as his pencil began scratching against the page in front of him.

“Jesy wanted to fix me up with her friend, Jade, and I really hate blind dates, but every time I tried to turn her down, she would come up with another argument, so I finally told her I was seeing someone.” Liam chewed on his lower lip as he thought back to that day. “I didn’t give her a name, just said ‘my boyfriend’.”

“Did you ever give a name?” Zayn asked, eyes now focused on his pencil as it began moving faster and faster. “I’ll have to get used to being called by that name.”

“No, but…” Liam trailed off, feeling his face warming up. 

Zayn stopped whatever he was doing and looked up at Liam, quirking an eyebrow. “But?”

“Louis and Harry think  _ you’re _ my boyfriend,” Liam rushed out, burying his face in his hands as the last word escaped.

The room was silent for several moments, Liam fearing that Zayn would back out of the weekend now. Hell, he might even be disgusted enough by Liam’s behaviour to ask him to move out. He was such an idiot; he should just call Louis and tell him the truth and hopefully not end up getting fired for being a lying bastard. As soon as he did that, he should start packing and find another place to live; he could probably go back to the hostel for a little while until he found something. Although, if he lost his job as well, he might as well just crawl back to Wolverhampton with his metaphorical tail between his legs.

Liam jumped when Zayn pulled his hands away from his face. He kept his eyes closed, feeling Zayn’s breath on his face. “Leeyum,” he whispered. “Look at me.” Liam cracked one eye open, relieved to see that Zayn didn’t look upset; he looked amused and slightly concerned. He opened the other eye, smiling as Zayn brushed his thumbs over his cheeks. “There you are. Them thinking I’m your boyfriend isn’t necessarily a bad thing, at least I don’t have to get used to another name so I’ll know when they’re talking to me. That always seems to be what gives away the ruse in films like these.” 

“Our life isn’t a film,” Liam told him. “And if it were, I definitely opt out of the romantic comedy genre and choose buddy or spy films.”

Zayn’s lips quirked into a slight smile before he burst out with a laugh and fell back against the arm of the sofa. It took Liam a second to recover from the shock of Zayn’s acceptance before he started to laugh as well. Maybe this whole weekend would be fun after all.

***

Thursday morning, Liam ignored Harry’s coos as he kept an arm tight around Zayn’s waist after a large yawn had nearly sent him tumbling to the street where Harry and Louis were waiting for them. Louis had declared that they would all drive together and save petrol. Liam suspected that the truth was that Zayn would be a captive audience and forced to endure any and all questions the two had for him. As soon as they were settled into the backseat of the auto, Zayn leaned back and closed his eyes. They were barely two kilometres down the road when soft snores filled the space.

“Not much of a morning person, is he?” Harry asked, turning around in his seat to watch them.

“No, not really,” Liam answered, directing fond eyes to Zayn. It was true that the man loved his sleep; it didn’t really help his consciousness that Liam had kept him up late stressing over the weekend while attempting to solidify a backstory for their relationship.

They’d finally decided the best thing to do was stick to their actual history as closely as possible. They’d met because Liam moved into Zayn’s flat. They’d hit it off and eventually started dating. Nice and easy, light on the details and simple to stick to if anyone asked.    
“Keep it simple, stupid,” Zayn had said, the words hurting Liam until he’d explained it was a saying and not a judgement of Liam’s intelligence. It had quickly led to a play fight between them that had ended in both of them gasping for breath and holding their sore stomachs. 

Despite all of that, the easiness of the plan, the playfulness of their friendship, Liam still kept his fingers crossed that everything would go smoothly. Four days was a lot of time for things to go wrong. With Liam’s luck, everything would have gone to shit before the night was out.

Harry and Louis chatted throughout the drive, Liam chiming in when he had something to add while Zayn slept on unbothered by the noise. At some point, the jostling of the road caused Zayn to tip sideways and onto Liam’s shoulder. He mumbled sleepily and dug his face into the side of Liam’s neck. Swallowing hard, Liam tried to figure out how to nicely move Zayn without waking him and decided instead to just slip his arm behind Zayn’s shoulder and keep him sitting upright against him. He glanced down, brushing Zayn’s bangs off his forehead when he heard the sound of a camera shutter.

“So cute,” Harry said, turning his phone to show Liam the picture, which he had to admit was pretty cute. “I’ll send it to you.” Liam nodded, it would look pretty strange for him to object, after all.

Eventually, Liam felt his own exhaustion taking over. He fought against the weight of his eyelids but it was a losing battle. In the middle of Harry telling a rambling story from back when he worked in a bakery in his small town, long before he’d met Louis, his eyes closed completely.

Liam jolted awake, his back twinging with pain. He sat up from where he’d slumped over in his sleep, looking around a bit lost and confused. Zayn had managed to slip from Liam’s shoulder while he’d slept, cheek pressed into Liam’s thigh while he’d managed to drape himself over him, arm wrapped tightly over Zayn’s arm, hand on his own knee. Liam watched him for a few moments before glancing up to find Harry and Louis turned around in their seats watching them with fond smiles on their faces. “What?”

“You two are adorable,” Louis said, a hint of mockery in his voice but mostly it was fond.

Liam’s phone buzzed and glancing down at it, he saw two texts from Harry. Giving him a confused look that quickly morphed into a smile as he discovered the messages were not words but photos. The first was the one Harry had shown him earlier, the second must have been taken only a few moments earlier with Liam curled over Zayn’s sleeping form, his cheek resting on Zayn’s shoulder. He gave Harry a small, grateful smile as he saved the photos to his phone. He set the second one as his home screen; that’s the kind of thing couples do, right?

Louis and Harry climbed out of the car, leaving Liam to wake Zayn. He hesitated to disturb his peaceful slumber, but Liam figured that, if anything, there had to be a surface in the cabin that was more comfortable than Liam’s lap. Reaching over Zayn, he brushed the back of his hand gently across his cheek. “Zayn, mate, c’mon,” Liam whispered, jumping when Zayn snorted.

“Better watch yourself,” Zayn whispered back, clearly wide awake despite appearances. “Can’t be calling me ‘mate’,” he told him as he sat up and stretched, letting out a low groan that affected Liam far more than he cared to admit, even to himself.

“How long have you been awake?” Liam asked, shoving him and laughing when Zayn reached out and started tickling him in retaliation. 

“Since the car stopped. Lemme see the pictures, yeah?” He grabbed Liam’s phone which had fallen onto the seat as they’d tussled. Without hesitation, he thumbed in the passcode and smiled down at the homescreen. “Nice. Send it to me, yeah?” Rolling his eyes he sent it to himself, chuckling before Liam could even respond, let alone reach for his phone. 

A knock on Liam’s window pulled their attention away from the phone to Harry’s smiling face pressed against the rapidly fogging up window. “No sex in the backseat unless it includes Lou and me,” he said, laughing when Zayn and Liam scrambled out the other side, nearly falling out atop each other in their haste.

As they stood up straight, brushing each other off, Liam laid eyes on the cabin for the first time. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected when he’d found out they were heading to a cabin in the woods, other than the obligatory horror movie reference, but it certainly wasn’t what he saw across the man-made pond they were standing alongside.

Three stories of golden wood stood before them, a deck wrapped around three sides leaving the lowest level shaded where it pressed up against the pond. Four large paned windows lined the ground floor and the rest of the house sported ten of the same windows reflecting the early afternoon sun back at them. He raised his hand and shaded his eyes as he gaped and Zayn let out a whistle of appreciation, raising his phone to take a photo; Liam knew that Zayn would be painting the view in front of them once they were back home in their flat.

Louis appeared on the deck, waving his hands above his head. “Are you wankers coming in to help us make dinner or did you want to take a walk in the woods?” Liam chanced a glance at Zayn who was gazing toward a trail leading around the pond and into the woods. Liam lifted a foot to head down the trail when Louis shouted again. “I think we requested a weekend without serial murderers,” he teased.

Laughing uneasily, Liam grabbed the bag he and Zayn had packed, thinking it would look more convincing if they just brought one, startling when Zayn reached over and tangled their fingers together. “Do we trust his cooking?” Zayn asked, leaning in and whispering in Liam’s ear, breath ghosting over it and causing Liam to hunch his shoulders and giggle.

“As long as it’s chicken stuffed with mozzarella wrapped in parma ham with a side of homemade mash, we’re safe,” Liam responded.

“That’s rather specific.”

“It’s the only thing he knows how to make.” Liam shrugged as Zayn burst into laughter, squeezing Liam’s hand.

They walked to the side of the cabin, climbing the stairs leading to the front door. The door opened into a spacious sitting room filled with overstuffed furniture, the entire thing in soft earth tones giving it a very natural feeling. Sunlight shone through the windows, diffused by coating on the panes giving the space a cosy feeling despite the ceiling reaching up beyond the upper floor. Looking up, he spotted what appeared to be a hand-hewn log railing surrounding a loft area.

“Shut your mouths. You look ridiculous,” Harry teased from somewhere behind them. Liam turned to find him standing in the kitchen fiddling with an electric kettle and smiling. Zayn left his side to watch Louis make a fire in the massive fireplace that took up the wall next to the door through which they had entered.

Liam moved into the kitchen as Harry was taking mugs from the cupboards. Setting them down, he spotted the bag on Liam’s shoulder. “C’mon. While this heats up, I’ll give you a tour and show you where you and Zayn will be sleeping.” Without moving he pointed to the stairs, one set leading up and another leading down. “Downstairs is storage, we usually come up for every holiday and I really like decorating. Unfortunately, I don’t have a whole lot for Valentine’s Day.”

“I’m sure we can come up with something,” Liam told him, his mind going back to primary school and different craft projects that he’d made for Valentine’s Day. “Do you have craft supplies?” Harry nodded, his smile growing. “Finish the tour and then we can figure out something.”

Harry kept smiling to himself as he gestured to the stairs again. “Upstairs is my and Louis’ room and a loft area set up as a library-slash-game room.” 

Nodding, Liam followed Harry out of the kitchen and directly into the dining room which housed a table with six chairs. On the wall was a painting of the cabin that Liam pointed at with a questioning tilt of his head. Harry explained about it having been in the cabin when they’d bought it. Liam turned to call Zayn’s attention to it but stopped when he saw he and Louis sword fighting with pieces of kindling. 

“Go, Zayn!” Liam called disrupting Zayn’s concentration and giving Louis the opportunity to poke him in the side.

Harry reached for Liam’s sleeve, tugging him away as Zayn “died” overdramatically. They continued towards a series of four doors, two on each side of a small hallway. He gestured to the doors on the left side, saying, “The last door on this side is the room you’ll be sleeping in. The first is the toilet, there’s a shower in there. Fair warning, it is not big enough for two.”

Liam had been peeking into the room when Harry’s words sank in; he turned around sputtering, words escaping him as he felt his face heating up. He pushed away the images that Harry’s words brought forward as Zayn approached him, laying a calming hand on his bicep. “Playing shy, babe?” he asked, giving him a cheeky smile but his caramel coloured eyes were concerned as they searched Liam’s.

Harry’s dimples showed from the wideness of his fond smile. “Too cute,” he murmured, pulling Zayn’s attention away from Liam and onto himself. 

Zayn pointed at the door directly across from where they would be sleeping. “Is that another bedroom?”

The happy expression on Harry’s face morphed into a scowl as he turned his back on the door in question. “That was the original plan, but Louis turned it into a home office instead.” Liam got the feeling he would be spending the weekend keeping Louis out of that room to keep the peace in the cabin. Tense silence filled the room around them for a moment before Harry shook his head, the strained look on his face melting into a smile, smaller than his normal one, but still a smile. “The door next to it leads to a laundry room in case you have any need to do laundry.”

“And that concludes today’s tour,” Louis announced, letting out a bark of laughter when Liam jumped, falling into Zayn, nearly knocking him off his feet.

Zayn helped him right himself before pushing him towards their room, laughing as Liam glared at Louis over his shoulder. Once they were through the doorway, Zayn closed the door in Harry and Louis’ surprised faces. He leaned back against the door and smiled, his true smile, tongue pressed against teeth, eyes crinkled until they practically disappeared. Liam stared at Zayn, his own face mirroring the expression.

“Dinner should be ready within the hour!” Louis shouted through the door.

“Weren’t we supposed to help?” Zayn shouted back.

“Just get settled and spend some couple time,” Harry said, his voice lower in volume, but bubbling with happiness.

Zayn and Liam listened for their footsteps to fade before either of them moved deeper into the room, standing awkwardly as they took in the large bed covered in a black duvet. Averting his eyes before turning completely away from the bed, Liam dropped their bag on the waist-high wardrobe that stood beneath the window. He unzipped it and began pulling out their clothing, creating piles on top of the wardrobe. “We should probably unpack since we’re here for a few days.” He pulled open the top drawer, holding a stack of Zayn’s shirts and chewing his lip as he planned the best way to fill the drawers. 

The shirts tumbled into the drawer messily when Zayn squeezed his bicep.  “Li, you need to, like, relax,” Zayn told him, leading him over to sit on the bed before sitting next to him. He held tighter to his arm when Liam tried to get off the bed. 

“I can use some pillows and blankets to make a place to sleep on the floor. As long as we keep the door locked and get everything back onto the bed before we go into the main area, we should be alright,” Liam babbled, attempting to turn out of Zayn’s grip to grab at the blankets and begin to do just that.

“Look, I know this is weird, but we’ve fallen asleep on our sofa together more times than I can count. Remember, it isn’t even the first time we’ve had to share a bed, we did the last time we went to visit my sister.“ 

“That was different. We weren’t pretending to be boyfriends. Now, it’s like it means something,” Liam muttered, feeling anxious.

Zayn trailed his hand gently down Liam’s arm, smiling as a shiver went through him before tangling their fingers together. “Is it really so bad pretending to be my boyfriend?” Zayn’s voice had a teasing lilt, but his teeth digging into his lower lip gave away his apprehension at the uncertainty of Liam’s response.

The clasp of their joined hands warmed Liam’s palms, his cheeks growing warm as well as he looked down at them before looking back up to his face, his eyes darting between his mouth and eyes. Squeezing Zayn’s hand, he shook his head. “No. It’s not so bad.” He ran his free hand over the back of his neck, rubbing against the short hairs there. “I don’t know why I’m acting the way I am.”

“It’s a crazy situation and there’s no guidebook how to behave except those stupid romcoms that neither of us particularly enjoy watching. I don’t think those really have anything for us to go by.” Zayn shrugged.

“I just don’t know how I got us into this situation,” Liam said, turning to press his forehead against Zayn’s shoulder.

“I do. Louis and the foundation mean a lot to you,” Zayn told him, his voice matter-of-fact with a shrug of his shoulders. “You always go out of your way to make sure everyone else is happy. It’s one of the things I l-like about you.”

“How is lying to Louis and Harry making anyone happy?” Liam asked as he traced an index finger over the mandala tattooed onto the back of Zayn’s hand. 

“You’re only lying because you want to convince him that you’re happy. Seeing the people he cares about being happy is what makes him happy. Hell, it’s the whole basis of his foundation,” Zayn explained, tracing the rose on the back of Liam’s hand as it continued to trace the mandala. Liam blew out a breath and pulled his hands away, tangling them together between his knees as he leaned forward and stared at the hardwood floor between his feet. “You are happy, aren’t you, Liam?”

Zayn’s words were quiet, but they cut through to a part of Liam that he tried not to pay attention to, the part of him that longed for so much more than what he had. He loved his flat, his job, his friendship with Zayn. He loved London and the people he’d welcomed into his life there. Despite all of the things that he loved, he did not love being single, did not love being afraid to put himself out there. So, even though it might appear otherwise to anyone who didn’t try to look deeper, he wasn’t entirely happy. 

“It’s okay to not be happy,” Zayn said, running a hand over Liam’s back. The action was comforting in its familiarity, it was something Zayn did whenever Liam began lamenting his life choices. He leaned into it and turned slightly to rest his head on Zayn’s shoulder again. “It’s okay to want things you don’t think you can have.” He brushed his cheek against the top of Liam’s head, his own voice sounding wistful.

Liam was about to ask what he meant when a shout came from the kitchen, followed immediately by the shrill screeching of the smoke alarm. Jumping off the bed, they raced out of the room, stuck in the doorway for a few moments as they tried to go through at the same time. Despite the seriousness of what had got them moving, they laughed and playfully pushed and shoved before they were out and hurrying towards the kitchen.

They arrived to find the room filled with smoke and Harry standing on a step stool, waving a tea towel through the smoke in front of the smoke detector while Louis wrestled with the windows, trying to get them open. Liam moved to steady Harry on the step stool while Zayn went to shut the stove that was still billowing out smoke. He turned the knobs to off and looked down at the glass dish of raw chicken on the counter next to the range.

“What happened?” Liam asked, once the screeching of the smoke detector stopped and the windows were open, sucking out more of the smoke and clearing the room quickly. 

“Think the oven’s broken,” Louis muttered. 

“Ya think so, huh?” Zayn asked. Liam rolled his eyes and used a foot to push at the back of Zayn’s leg, making the boy laugh as he stumbled.

“It was preheating and when I opened it to put the chicken in…” Harry trailed off and waved his arms around the room. “This happened.” He looked sadly at the chicken.

“Is there a grill?” Liam asked as he started to poke the chicken, stopping when Zayn slapped his hand.

“Stop trying to play with the raw meat,” he scolded, grabbing Liam’s hand before he could put it in his mouth and pushing him towards the sink.

“There might be one in the storage shed,” Louis said, looking at Harry for confirmation who shook his head. “Or not.”

“Please tell me there’s a place for takeaway nearby,” Zayn said, looking to their hosts.

“About thirty minutes down the road,” Louis told him. “We tried to point it out to you on the way in, but you lazy buggers were sleeping.” Liam was glad to see that Louis’ teasing spirit had returned. “There’s a couple of restaurants and shops.”

“Good. Louis and I will go and get dinner for tonight and pick up foods that don’t need to be cooked, unless it’s in the microwave, for the rest of the weekend. Cereal, pastries, sandwich fixings, that sort of thing.” Zayn ordered. Liam looked at him, a proud smile on his face as Louis hurried to put shoes on and grab his keys.

“We’ll be back, babe,” Zayn said to Liam. “You and Harry hurry up and clean up around here. Call if you think of anything else we might need.”

“Lube and condoms,” Harry said, cheekily.

“Take that up with your man,” Liam told him, cheeks flushing. “Er, hurry back?” he said to Zayn, that was a coupley thing to say, right? Then he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Zayn’s cheek, glad when it got him a cheeky wink and a light slap to the bum in response.

After they had gone, Liam helped Harry cleaned up the kitchen. He was relieved to allow Harry to carry on the majority of the conversation, making mostly non-committal sounds in response to any questions he asked; it was the way he’d gotten away with having a fake boyfriend for as long as he had. It didn’t take long before Harry’s questions became more invasive and Liam wondered if the reason he’d gotten away with his lies was that no one actually listened to anything he said.

“Louis said that you and Zayn love comics,” Harry said. “You got him a whole bunch for his birthday last month or summat.”

Liam nodded, surprised that Harry knew that, but he shrugged it off as he talked about his and Zayn’s shared love of superheroes. It was easier to talk when he was telling the truth. “We’ve already got tickets to the midnight showing of  _ Captain Marvel _ next month,” he ended with.

“You two have so much in common, no wonder you fell in love,” Harry told him, dimples on full display as he smiled at him. “It’s like one of those cheesy stories you see online all the time, what was that Vine?” He snaps his fingers and his grin gets even bigger. “And they were roommates!” 

Liam couldn’t even stop himself as he responded, “Oh my god, they were roommates!” His voice cracked on the last word as the meaning sunk in, that his life for all intents and purposes had become a Vine.

He laughed along with Harry as they moved from the now clean kitchen into the sitting room to lounge on the sofa with a beer for Liam and a glass of wine for Harry. Staring into the fire, Liam realized despite the large size of the cabin, the fire made it appear cosier. He sighed as he thought how lovely it would be to spend time here with someone he was in love with and wondered if in the future if maybe Louis would allow him to borrow it.

Harry was on his second glass and Liam was just finishing his first bottle when they heard the crunch of tires on the stones outside the cabin. Crossing to the door, he pulled it open to allow Louis and Zayn to enter, both of them loaded down with grocery sacks. “The takeaway is still in the car,” Louis told them. “Liam, can you run out and get it?”

Liam hurried outside and grabbed the bags that were sitting on the backseat, smiling at the strong aroma of garlic wafting from the bags. Peeking inside, he saw a clear container of what appeared to be garlic bread. He hoped he wasn’t drooling too much when he managed to get into the cabin, relieved when Zayn took one of the bags from him.

“Made sure to get you extra cheesy garlic bread,” Zayn whispered. “And a couple packs of crushed red pepper for myself.”

“That’s...that’s really sweet,” Liam said, his cheeks burning as he wondered if he would have remembered to do the same for Zayn if their positions had been reversed.

“No big deal,” Zayn told him, smiling. “I even talked Louis into getting you mint chocolate chip ice cream.”

Liam shook his head as Zayn walked away, touched by his thoughtfulness but realised he shouldn’t be, Zayn always made sure the pantry was stocked with his favourite foods. When he worked late, Zayn made sure dinner was ready and in the winter, he’d lay the towels and Liam’s pyjamas over the radiators so his clothes would be toasty when he got in. He really was a lucky man to have found such a thoughtful flatmate.

“Oh my god, they were roommates!” he heard Louis shout from the kitchen followed by Zayn’s giggle.

Working together, they set up the takeaway on the dining room table, talking and laughing over their food. Liam felt warm as his stomach began to hurt from laughing so hard. He always knew he liked Louis, they’d clicked from the first time they’d met, at Liam’s interview, and Zayn was one of his best, if not his  _ very  _ best mate, but he found himself enjoying Harry’s company as well. He sat back and watched the other three for several moments, the naturalness of their interactions bringing an even larger smile to his face.

He was reaching for another piece of garlic bread when Zayn jabbed a fork at his plate to steal some of his chicken parmesan. “Oi!” Liam said, grabbing his plate and holding it out of Zayn’s reach. “Mine!”

“Mine!” Zayn argued, standing and trying to lean over Liam to jab at the plate again, dropping his fork and curling away from him when Liam poked him in the side.

Liam tickled him until he gave in and sat back in his chair with a playful pout. Liam was impressed that he’d managed to keep the plate from dumping on the floor and he set it back down, glancing at Zayn out of the corner of his eye who had dropped the pout and gone back to talking to Harry about photography.

Smiling, Liam cut a chunk of his chicken and using his fork and knife transferred it carefully to Zayn’s plate, giving an innocent look when he turned to him with his jaw dropped. Zayn reached over and squeezed his knee while he took a bite of the chicken parmesan without missing a beat in his conversation with Harry.

“Disgusting,” Louis said under his breath, earning a smack from Harry and a laugh from Zayn. Liam’s cheeks burned and he wiped at his face with his napkin to hide it from the others.

Once they’d all eaten as much as they could and empty wine and beer bottles sat on the table, they rose as one to clean up. Harry loaded the dishwasher while Zayn wiped down the table. Liam was tying up the full bin bag when he spotted Louis making his way toward his office door.

“Lou,” Liam called after him. “Are there rubbish bins outside?” 

“Yeah, mate, just outside the door we came in, surprised you didn’t see them on the way in,” Louis told him, hand landing on the doorknob.

“Must have missed them,” Liam said, with a shrug. “Show me?”

Louis looked at the door and then back at Liam, his gaze travelling over his shoulder toward the kitchen where Harry and Zayn’s voices had stopped. Shrugging, Louis turned and walked past Liam towards the front door of the cabin. “Yeah, alright,” he said. Liam followed, smiling when Harry mouthed a ‘thank you’ to him.

Liam exited and Louis was standing there exaggeratedly gesturing toward two large rubbish bins right next to the door. Liam gave a sheepish shrug as he opened one and put the tied up bag inside. The sky was turning pink as Liam turned back towards the door. “Sun’s setting. We should watch it,” he suggested, already imagining the changing sky through the trees and hoping to keep Louis away from the office until he either forgot he’d planned on going in there or they were heading to bed, whichever came first.

“There are some chairs and a bench on the other side of the house along with a chiminea,” Louis told him, smiling. “We can grab some more drinks, build a fire, and watch it from there.”

It only took a moment to convince Zayn and Harry to join them, gathering blankets and drinks and heading toward the sliding door in the dining room. “It’s closer to the seating,” Harry explained. Liam pulled the door open when Harry suddenly squealed, “Oh my god, stop!” in a terrible valley girl accent.

Zayn and Liam froze in the doorway, one foot each outside the cabin and one inside. They turned back and Harry was giggling into Louis’ shoulder as he pointed to a spot above their heads. Looking up, Liam groaned and Zayn laughed. A diminutive sprig of mistletoe was hanging directly over the door, colours muted by a thin layer of dust. “Seriously?” Liam said, exchanging a look with a grinning Zayn.

“C’mon, man, it’s a tradition!” Louis teased.

“A  _ Christmas _ tradition,” Liam argued back, ignoring the way Zayn curled into him, burying his face into his neck, laughter brushing the skin.

“Still a tradition,” Harry countered, smiling. “We must have missed it when we took down the Christmas decorations,” he said to Louis before turning his attention back to Liam and Zayn. “Just one little Valentine’s kiss.”

“Under the  _ Christmas _ decoration?” Liam asked, trying to figure out a way to get himself out of the situation. He knew this weekend was going to be awkward, but this was more than he’d ever imagined. It was one thing to hold hands with Zayn, even the cuddling was alright, but kissing crossed a line into a strange area he wasn’t prepared for, which he knew from experience. Despite the hesitation and the burning of his cheeks, he could tell that the others were not ready to give up as they began to chant, “Kiss him, kiss him,” over and over again. 

“Honestly, we’re not comfortable with PDA,” Liam tried.

“It’s not public, it’s just us,” Louis argued while Harry continued to chant.

Zayn tilted his head, his lips barely brushing Liam’s ear. “Not like it’s the first time,” he murmured.

Liam closed his eyes, the memory of the night Zayn had kissed him vivid behind the lids. They’d been playing video games, goofing off and trash talking each other when Zayn had said something about Liam kissing his mum with that mouth. “Keep it up and I’ll kiss you,” Liam had sassed back. 

“Oh, yeah?” Zayn had countered, dropping his controller and leaning right into Liam’s space. “Come on, then. Come on,” he’d taunted. Liam had hesitated and the next thing he knew, Zayn had leaned in and pressed their lips together.

It wasn’t that Liam had been bothered by the kiss or offended or any negative emotion at all, it was that he  _ hadn’t _ been bothered or offended. The kiss had felt natural. There hadn’t been sparks or any of that rot you read in romance novels or see in cheesy movies, instead, it had been comfortable and felt like home.

As soon as his body started to relax into the kiss, Liam panicked and ran away. He couldn't even sugarcoat his actions; he’d literally pulled back, fell off the sofa and ran to his bedroom, locking the door behind himself and not coming out until the next morning after Zayn had left for work. When Zayn had knocked on his door a couple of times, he’d pretended to be asleep. Things had gone on that way for a couple of weeks, Liam being very careful to leave and return when Zayn wouldn’t be able to catch him. He’d spent so much time hiding in his room, avoiding the common areas of the flat, he’d barely eaten.

One night, a couple of weeks after the kiss, his hunger had gotten the best of him and he’d walked out of his room to find Zayn sitting on the sofa, staring at the start screen for Mario Kart, a pizza box sitting open on the coffee table, the aroma filling the flat and causing his stomach to grumble loudly. Without a word, he’d dropped down onto the sofa next to Zayn, picking up a controller and a slice of pizza. In silence, they’d started playing the game and life continued on as if the kiss and the following weeks had never happened.

The kiss hadn’t been mentioned since, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about Zayn bringing it up at that moment beneath the mistletoe. As he debated what to do, Louis and Harry’s chants reached a volume that grated at Liam's patience, with a shrug he dislodged Zayn’s head from his shoulder. The space in the doorway was tight, but turning to face Zayn, Liam manoeuvred an arm from under the blankets he was carrying to cup Zayn’s cheek before leaning in to press their lips together.

He’d intended for it to be just a quick brush of their lips, but as soon as he felt Zayn’s lips underneath his, warm and dry, he couldn’t bring himself to pull back. Zayn’s lips parted slightly, allowing their lips to slot together as Liam tilted his head slightly to deepen the kiss. He nipped at Zayn’s lower lip as Louis’ voice broke through the cloud that had enfolded them into their own little world.

“Oi! If that’s how you act when you’re uncomfortable, I hope you never feel comfortable around us,” he said, laughing into Harry’s shoulder. Harry had his phone up and made a ‘keep going’ motion with his hand.

“No photos, please!” Zayn said, smiling at Liam as he spoke. Liam tried to return his smile, but the clench of his cheeks told him it wasn’t his best.

“I’m not taking photos, I’m filming for posterity,” Harry told him and Zayn buried his face in Liam’s chest.

Liam wrapped his arms protectively around Zayn as well as he could without dropping the blankets, glaring at Harry as he continued to laugh. Pulling Zayn outside, he shut the sliding door, leaving the laughing duo inside while he led Zayn over to a bench. They settled next to each other, Liam draping one of the blankets over their laps. “You’re not going to run away again, are you?” Zayn whispered as the door opened and Harry and Louis joined them, passing each of them a beer.

As the other two got settled, Liam pressed a kiss to Zayn’s forehead before he looked him in the eyes, a soft smile on his face as he shook his head. His heart was beating quickly and he feared Zayn would be able to feel it against his cheek. It had only been the previous night when Zayn had declared himself his best mate, something Liam had refused to admit until Zayn said it and now he wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but he certainly didn’t feel about Niall the way he did about Zayn at that moment. 

Harry offered him a couple beers and Liam handed one off to Zayn before settling in more comfortably. The conversation that followed only took a small portion of his concentration as he focused the rest of it on the feeling of Zayn’s body curled underneath his arm, warm hand resting on his thigh. He tried not to question why Zayn was touching him under the blankets where the others couldn’t see, but he was enjoying it and didn’t want to have to admit his feelings by questioning Zayn’s actions. He also didn’t want Zayn to be uncomfortable and stop.

At some point, the alcohol and long day caught up to him and he fell asleep, startling awake when something cold and wet hit his cheek. Dragging his heavy lids open, he noticed that he wasn’t the only one that had dozed off. Zayn was asleep next to him and Louis and Harry were nearly there. He felt the cold and wet sensation on his cheek again, reaching up to brush it away. Looking at his fingers, he smiled when a snowflake fell onto it, followed quickly by another. It didn’t take long before it was snowing in earnest and Louis and Harry were scrambling to their feet. Louis bent over the chiminea to put out the last of the embers burning inside while Harry gathered together the blankets and pillows they had been relaxing on.

Liam nudged Zayn, shivering as more snow fell down the back of his shirt. Zayn made a small noise when a snowflake landed on the tip of his nose, but instead of waking, he hid his face in Liam’s chest. “C’mon, babe,” Liam said, gently as he pushed himself to stand, pulling Zayn up with him. “Wake up, it’s time for bed.”

Zayn snorted, his body leaning even more heavily into Liam. He mumbled something about the irony of being woken up to go to sleep and Liam finally gave up, scooping him into a bridal carry. Harry was standing just inside the doorway, pointing cheekily to the mistletoe above their heads when they’d crossed the threshold. Rolling his eyes, Liam pressed a kiss to Zayn’s forehead, cocking an eyebrow at Harry for approval. 

Laughing, he moved out of the way, letting Liam carry Zayn to the bedroom while he locked the door. Liam saw Louis leaning on the bannister at the foot of the stairs, eyes closed and body lax. “Night, Payno,” he muttered around a jaw-cracking yawn. “See you and lover boy in the morning.”

Liam flipped him off and moved towards the bedroom he was sharing with Zayn, laying him down gently on the bed before closing and locking the door. He jumped when he turned around and saw Zayn sitting on the edge of the bed pulling off his boots. “You were faking?” 

Zayn shrugged. “Was cold,” he answered as if that explained everything. “Gotta wee,” he said, standing and moving to the door, chuckling when he found it locked. “Be right back.”

Liam nodded as he pulled his shirt off and reached into the drawer for his pyjama bottoms. Pulling his jeans off, he thought he heard a noise behind him, but when he turned he just saw the door shutting behind Zayn. Shrugging, he pulled the pants on and crawled into the bed, grabbing his phone off the nightstand to check some emails while he waited for Zayn.

Zayn was back about ten minutes later, pyjamas on and toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. He smiled around it before putting it back into their toiletry case. Liam jumped to his feet to grab his own, smiling at Zayn as they passed each other. “Thanks again for doing this,” Liam said, chest tight with his gratitude. “I know you probably had a million better things to do this weekend.”

“I like Harry and Louis; it’s not a big deal. I like spending time with you, Liam. Don’t know why that’s so hard to believe,” Zayn told him as he crawled under the covers curling up with his back to Liam and the door.

Liam allowed himself a few moments to watch him before opening the door. “I’m still your best mate,” he heard Zayn mumble behind him followed by a soft snore.

“That you are,” Liam said, smiling to himself. “That you are.”

***

Liam woke slowly, stretching and cracking his back as he looked around. The other side of the bed was empty. He remembered coming back to bed the night before to find Zayn had starfished across the bed, leaving very little room for Liam. Trying not to disturb him, Liam had crawled into the bed and curled into as small a ball as he could. He’d had a hard time falling asleep until Zayn had shifted and curled around Liam, allowing him to stretch out and fall asleep with Zayn’s head on his shoulder and hand tangled gently in his chest hair. 

Stretching again, he ran his fingers over the sheets on Zayn’s side of the bed. They still held a bit of warmth so Zayn hadn’t been out of the bed for long and Liam wondered if the click of the bedroom door closing was what had woken him. 

Rolling over to his side, he grabbed his phone from the nightstand where he’d put it before heading off to brush his teeth the night before. He groaned when he saw that the battery was dead. Climbing out of bed, he padded over to the wardrobe where he’d left his charging cord and plugged the phone in as he grabbed some clothes and headed out of the room to take a shower.

After his shower, he put his pyjama pants back on and forewent a shirt due to the warmth inside the cabin. At the last moment, he grabbed the house shoes Zayn had snuck into the duffle despite Liam’s protests, remembering the chill of the tile in the kitchen the night before. As he towel dried his hair, he heard soft talking and saw the door out of the dining room was cracked open and Zayn was leaning against the railing, a cigarette in one hand and his phone in the other. He started to head over to say good morning but stopped when he recognized the look on his face, the softness of his tone told Liam he was talking to his mum. Not wanting to disturb him, he changed direction and headed into the kitchen. 

He dug through the cupboards and pulled out a couple of bowls and then looked for the cereal that Louis and Zayn had picked up the night before. He wasn’t even surprised to discover his favourite cereal sitting next to Zayn’s when he opened a door next to the refrigerator. Pouring some into each bowl, he added milk, less for Zayn because he hated his cereal getting soggy too quickly. Finally, he added a spoon to each bowl before picking them up and heading to the door.

Using his foot, he nudged the door open further as he heard Trisha’s voice say, “Oh, sonshine, you just need to tell him how you feel.” Her voice held the motherly tone she always used when she was exasperated with her only son.

“Right, mum,” Zayn mumbled. “I’ll just say, ‘Oh, by the way, Liam, I’ve been in love with you since the day you moved in-”

He cut off when the cereal bowls crashed to the deck, the milk soaking into Liam’s pyjama bottoms. “Y...y-ou, what?” Liam stuttered out in a strangled voice when Zayn whipped around to gape at him, his phone falling to the ground with a thud. Trisha’s voice was muted as she called out Zayn’s name, worriedly asking if everything was alright.

Zayn opened and closed his mouth a few times before shaking his head and racing past Liam and down the stairs away from the cabin. It took a moment for Liam to recover from his shock, Zayn’s words still bouncing around inside his head, refusing to settle and by the time he started to move, Zayn had disappeared down a trail into the woods. Liam began to go after him when a chill ran through his body. Looking down, he took note of his bare chest. 

Sprinting into the cabin, he grabbed his jacket from where he’d thrown it over the back of a chair in the main room, zipping it up over his still-shirtless torso and running out the door. He hurried the way Zayn had gone. Although the cold cut through what little clothing he was wearing, he was thankful for the snow-covered ground showing easy-to-follow footprints. He hadn’t noticed what Zayn had been wearing but saw that he, at least, had shoes of some kind on his feet.

It didn’t take long before Liam heard Zayn cursing and moving around just up ahead of him. Coming around a bend in the trail, he found Zayn pacing, arms wrapped tight around himself as he muttered under his breath. Every few steps he would stop and stomp his feet, rubbing his hands vigorously over his bare arms. Liam heard his own name a couple of times before Zayn turned to pace back and jumped with a scream when he spotted Liam.

They gazed at each other for several heartbeats before Liam realized that Zayn was shivering in his pyjamas and no coat. Unzipping his own jacket, he started shrugging out of it, but Zayn stepped forward and tugged it closed again. “You don’t have a shirt on,” he hissed, fumbling with the zipper. Liam covered his hands with his own, stopping their movements.

Zayn’s hands trembled under his own, the tremors coursing through his entire body and his lips looked discoloured from the cold. He didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around him, pulling him snugly against his chest and wrapping the open sides of his jacket around him. They didn’t quite meet, so he wouldn’t be able to zip Zayn into the warmth, but he hoped this would be enough until he could convince him to come back to the cabin.

“This isn’t how I imagined having this conversation,” Liam said. The quip was offhand, but the entire situation was too heavy for laughter.

“I never imagined having this conversation at all,” Zayn muttered, his cold nose buried in Liam’s neck. “Can we just forget you heard anything?”

The crack in Zayn’s voice, the dampness on his chest where quiet tears fell were almost enough for Liam to agree to forget, but if everything that led up to this trip had taught him anything it was that lying just led to more lying and he was exhausted by all of the lying he’d been doing. However, when he opened his mouth to argue, he closed it and his eyes trying to figure out how to answer Zayn without causing him any more pain than what he was already feeling. 

When Zayn’s trembling had slowed down, Liam found his words, ineloquent though they were. “If you truly want me to forget, I will pretend that I did,” he told Zayn. “I’ll pretend that I never heard what you said, but I won’t actually forget it because I don’t want to forget.” Zayn pulled his head out of Liam’s neck and looked up at him through his lashes, a questioning noise escaping his lips. “I don’t want to forget because knowing how you feel makes it easier for me to tell you that I feel the same way.”

Zayn responded with an unamused snort. “You’ve been in love with me since the day you moved in?”

Liam tilted his head from side to side, trying to put words together before letting them slip past his lips. “Maybe not from the day I moved in, but I think at some point between then and now, I fell in love.” Zayn started to squirm away, but Liam tightened his arms.

“You think?” Zayn said, struggling to get out of Liam’s grasp. “This isn’t...I’m not...Dammit, Leeyum, let go of me!” His voice was panicked but quiet. He twisted one of Liam’s nipples hard, Liam hissed in pain, slapping a hand over his chest in protection. Taking advantage of Liam’s moment of distraction, Zayn got free of Liam’s grasp.

Zayn only got a couple of steps away before Liam caught him by the arm and tugged him into the warmth of his jacket again, this time his back against Liam’s chest. “We need to get back to the cabin before we freeze and then we are going to talk,” Liam insisted, moving his right foot forward and forcing Zayn to do the same.

He frogmarched Zayn back to the cabin, disregarding Zayn’s complaining and struggling to get away the entire time. If he acknowledged them, he’d let go and Zayn would run and if he got away, Liam wasn’t sure he would be able to get him back again. As they exited the trail next to the cabin, Harry called out a greeting from the balcony at the back of the cabin outside the master bedroom. Liam raised a hand in greeting, allowing Zayn enough freedom of motion to stomp down on Liam’s instep. When Liam grabbed his foot to hop around in pain, every curse word he knew leaving his lips, Zayn ran towards the cabin at full tilt, slipping and sliding in the snow.

“What’s going on?” Harry called down. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Liam hissed out as he stepped carefully on his foot, glad when the pain wasn't as bad as he’d expected. He sprinted up the stairs and grabbed the handle of the sliding door to the dining room, cursing again when it didn’t budge. Scurrying around the deck, he spotted Zayn watching him from the main room and made it to the front door at the same time he did, heart sinking when he heard the lock turn. 

“Dammit, Zayn! Let me in!” he shouted, knocking on the door. Zayn glared at him through the window before shaking his head, an unrecognizable look on his face before he disappeared from view. Liam raised a hand to bang on the door, dropping his hand when he spotted Harry and Louis stumbling down the stairs through the window.

They froze at the bottom, looking between where Zayn had run and Liam’s face pressed against the door, confusion on their faces. After they’d looked back and forth a half dozen times, Liam knocked on the door breaking them out of whatever thought loop they’d gotten themselves stuck in. Louis marched over to the door and unlocked it, allowing Liam to enter. “Trouble in paradise?” Louis questioned as Liam pushed past him to approach the door of the room he and Zayn were sharing. He grabbed the doorknob, attempting to turn it only to find it had been locked.

He rapped firmly on the wood without a response. Pressing an ear to the door, he could hear Zayn moving around in the room. At first, he’d assumed he was pacing again, but then he heard the drawers in the wardrobe open and close; Zayn was packing. He pounded on the door, calling his name. “Go away!” Zayn yelled as Harry came to stand behind Liam, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“No!” Liam hollered back. “I’m not going anywhere until we talk!”

“I’m not talking to you!” Zayn responded.

Liam started to argue when Harry squeezed his shoulder and forced him around to face him. “Louis and I are going into town for a few hours,” he told him. “If you need us to come back sooner or want us to stay away longer, just text us.” Harry pulled Liam into a hug which he returned gratefully, but his mind was still on figuring out how to get Zayn to let him into the bedroom.

The hug broke as Louis called for Harry, accompanied by the impatient jingling of keys. As they pulled apart, Harry held out a butter knife and Liam gave him a strange look as he took it. “You can use it to jimmy the lock open. Just slide it in right here and wiggle it back and forth until it pops,” he explained, his voice quiet as he ran his fingers over a spot on the doorjamb that had several scrapes in the paint. “Louis’ little sisters like to lock themselves in when they don’t want to do the dishes.” He chuckled, but his eyes were filled with concern instead of mirth as he walked away down the hall.

“Thanks,” Liam called after him and Harry waved over his shoulder as he followed Louis out the door of the cabin, closing it firmly behind themselves. Liam waited until he heard the car started before knocking on the door again.

The sound of something softly thudding against the door was the only answer to Liam’s continued knocking. “Zayn, ba-”

“I’m not your babe!” Zayn shouted. 

“No,” Liam responded, his voice darker than he’d expected. “You’re not my babe, but you are my best mate, right?” He uncurled the fist he’d been knocking with and laid his palm against the wood, pressing his forehead beside it as he spoke. He heard a snort from Zayn, his chest tightening; he could survive this weekend if he still had Zayn as his best mate, but if he lost him completely, he wasn’t sure what his life would become.

He opened his mouth to speak again, hoping something that his brain came up with would be enough to get Zayn to open the door; he really didn’t want to attempt to break in, sure that he would fail if he did. His words were lost under the sound of music filling the room, the sound tinny enough to know it was coming from Zayn’s phone and it was close to the door, drowning out anything Liam would attempt to say.

Flipping the knife in his hand, thankfully catching the handle and not the blade, he knelt in front of the door to follow Harry’s instructions. Luckily, the music drowned out the rattling and scraping he was doing. Just as he was going to give up and wait until Zayn needed to use the loo, there was a louder sound and the door popped open. Pushing it open, he discovered Zayn standing in the middle of the room, fully dressed with their duffle over his shoulder.

“We’re leaving?” Liam asked before his eyes fell on the open wardrobe drawers which still held his clothing, his toiletries scattered over the top. “ _ You’re  _ leaving.”

“It’ll be easier for everyone,” Zayn said, refusing to look Liam in the eyes as he scrambled to his feet. He sidestepped Liam’s hands as he reached for Zayn. “I’ll have Louis drive me into town, there’s a bus station there.”

“Louis and Harry just left to go into town,” Liam explained, following Zayn out into the main room. 

Zayn cursed under his breath, the shoulders he’d had tensed up dropped, his entire body a study in disappointment. “I’ll walk.” He headed towards the door. He’d almost reached it before Liam could even will himself to move.

He threw his body between Zayn and the door, outstretching his arms to block it, feeling like a child. “No! We need to talk.”

“We don’t Liam. I’m in love with you and you’re too nice a guy to tell me that you don’t love me back, so you’ll lie just to make me happy,” Zayn told him. “Please just let me go.”

His words hit Liam like a physical blow; the idea that Zayn thought that he would ever lie to him about anything took away any argument he could possibly come up with to make him stay. “I’ll text Louis to come back for you or, if I have to, I’ll get you an Uber,” he responded. “I’ll even pay for it.”

Blinking back tears, Liam headed to the bedroom to get his phone. He stared at the screen, the picture of the two of them sleeping on the way to the cabin, looking so relaxed with each other. He rubbed at his cheeks as the tears started. After the car came for Zayn, he’d have to figure out where he was going to live. He could return to the hostel, or maybe Louis could put him up for a little while.

He dropped onto the bed and opened up his texting app, composing a group text to Harry and Louis to be sure that one of them would see it and respond. His thumb hovered over the send arrow when he felt the bed dip next to him. Looking up, he took in Zayn sitting next to him, shoulders slumped, gazed locked on the floor. “Just about to send the text.”

“Don’t.” Zayn’s voice was so quiet that he almost missed it, but even if he had, Zayn reaching over and taking his phone and shutting it off before tossing it towards the head of the bed where it bounced off the pillows made his point for him. 

“Thought you didn’t want to talk,” Liam said, twisting his fingers together in his lap.

“I don’t, but I think I should listen,” Zayn responded, the bed bouncing as he turned towards Liam on the bed, bringing one leg underneath himself while the other dangled off the end of the bed. 

Liam started with the most important point, at least at this very moment. “I have never, and would never, lie to you.” In his peripheral vision, he saw Zayn’s head bob in understanding. “When I said that I  _ think _ I’m in love with you, it’s because I’ve only just on this trip started looking at my feelings.”

Zayn’s silence continued, so Liam kept speaking, choosing his words carefully. “I lied to the people I work with, or at least let them believe I had a boyfriend. I never told them that  _ you _ were my boyfriend, but I obviously talk about you and the things we do enough for them to make a connection in their minds.” He stood from the bed and began to pace. “You and I spend a majority of our free time together. We like the same kinds of movies and music and have similar senses of humour. Up until a few days ago, I thought you were my only friend in London.”

Zayn interjected, “I’m your best-” 

“Yes, you are, but you do have other friends and I have Louis and Harry, or so they’ve informed me.” Liam shook his head, laughing. “Even with the other people in our lives, you are the one I tell my good news to first. You are the one I wait to watch my favourite shows and movies with. You are the one I go out to eat with or to have a drink at the pub with. We do kickabouts at the park and visit each other’s families.”

Liam stopped pacing suddenly and stared out the window. He laughed to himself. “Thinking about it, I can understand why people think you’re my boyfriend.” He turned back to Zayn, kneeling in front of him and taking his hands in his own. “I’m a complete donut, aren’t I?”

Zayn shook his head with a soft smile, squeezing Liam’s hands. “Not a  _ complete  _ donut.”

Liam hit Zayn gently in the shoulder with a whispered, “Hey…”

“It’s not your fault that you didn’t realize what was going on; I’m not sure I did either until my mum said something about it a few weeks ago,” Zayn admitted, burying his face in his hands when the words were done. 

“Your mum?” Liam asked, his confusion growing.

“I was on the phone with her while you were on that trip with Louis, the one where your train was late getting back,” Zayn started. 

“You were so upset with me for not calling,” Liam remembered. “My phone was dead and you called me an idiot.”

“After you'd gone to bed, mum read me the riot act for being mean just because I had been worried about you.” Zayn tried to tug his hands out of Liam’s grasp but dropped the struggle when Liam’s grip tightened. “She called me out on my feelings about you and when I tried to argue, she pointed out that everything we did together was exactly what I’d done with all of my girlfriends. Hell, I didn’t even know I was attracted to men until I met you.”

“What about the kiss?” Liam asked.

“It was just fun and games when it started, but after we’d kissed and you freaked out, I tried to forget about it all,” Zayn answered, looking embarrassed. “It was easier to brush off the feelings I was having than to face them and risk pushing you away even further than I already had with the kiss.”

“You didn’t push-”

“You literally ran out of the flat and avoided me for weeks!” Zayn snapped, finally managing to get his hands away from Liam and pushing off of the bed to cross to the window before turning around to face him. “I don’t know why I did it! Maybe some part of me thought if you kissed me you would feel something for me like I did for you, but you felt nothing! You ran!”

“We never discussed it,” Liam said, voice quiet. “You chose to ignore it, act as if nothing had happened-”

“You ran away!” Zayn’s voice raised enough to echo in the small space. “You made it pretty clear you regretted it and didn’t want it to happen, let alone talk about.”

“I didn’t know what to say!” Liam snapped. 

“Tell me to sod off! Tell me you weren’t interested! Anything except shutting me out as you did!” Zayn was still yelling, but his voice cracked on the last sentence.

“I’m sorry.” Liam tugged at his hair before standing and crossing to Zayn. “I know I didn’t react properly, but I didn’t know how to react.”

“Just be honest with me. Tell me you hated it and that I should move out. Anything!” Zayn tugged at his ear, looking at a point over Liam’s shoulder, avoiding eye contact as he did whenever he had to discuss anything he didn’t want to address.

“Honest? You want honest?” Liam asked, his voice evening out as his heart rate picked up. So many revelations had happened to him in the past week and he’d become afraid to share his thoughts with Zayn for only the second time since he’d first met him. “When we kissed, it felt so natural that it scared the absolute crap out of me.”

“Because being with a man is so horrific? Or was it just me?” Zayn asked, sneering.

“Damn it, Zayn, I’m bisexual, I thought you knew that,” Liam argued. “Even if I weren’t, you know I’m cool with Louis and Harry, so the idea of being with a man clearly isn’t a problem for me. Maybe it’s you who has the problem with it and are just projecting on me!”

“I may not have known I was attracted to men until you, but I have no problem discovering that I am.” His eyes filled with tears as he stared at Liam, throat bouncing under an audible gulp. “So, if you don’t have a problem with being with a man, it was just me, then,” Zayn said, pushing past Liam toward the door of the room, stopping when Liam grabbed him by the bicep and whirled him around.

Zayn stumbled into Liam’s chest, their noses nearly connecting. “I was scared because it wasn’t horrific. It wasn’t scary. It wasn’t wrong. It felt absolutely right and I thought you were just goofing around, so I couldn’t very well tell you that,” Liam explained, gentling his grip on Zayn’s arm.

Zayn dropped his forehead to Liam’s shoulder, letting out a wet, mirthless chuckle. “We really suck at communicating.”

“Although we apparently rock at dating,” Liam joked. “The movies, the dinners, everything we’ve done since the night I moved in. I never really saw it as dating, but everyone else who heard about the things we do together think we were.”

“Even my sister said she was jealous because my relationship was more romantic than any she’d ever had.” Zayn ran his hands around Liam’s waist, pulling him a bit closer. “She even threatened to tell you the next time she saw you.”

“Is that why we haven’t been back to your parents’ place?” Zayn nodded, a wry twist to his lips. “And why you keep slamming your laptop shut whenever I came home from work?” Liam had thought he’d heard Zayn’s sister’s voice through the door before coming in and spotted her face on the screen just before he closed them, but was convinced it had to be something else Zayn had been hiding from him.

Zayn finally looked him in the eye, his teeth digging into his lower lip. “So, does this mean you like me?”

“I think I more than like you,” Liam teased. “It just took trying to convince others for me to convince myself.”

“I take it back, you are a complete donut,” Zayn said teasing.

“And yet, you’re my mate,” Liam said.

“I’m your best mate,” Zayn reminded him before locking his fingers into his belt loops and pulling them snug together and smirking before pressing their lips together in a kiss to rival the one they shared under the mistletoe.

Liam could only imagine that as time went on the kisses and the everything between them would only be getting better and he couldn’t wait to find out. After years of pretending to be in love, he’d gone and done it for real. He’d fallen in love with his best mate.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on tumblr! I'm [josjournal](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).


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